The reality in immigration law is that attorneys must stay up-to-date on many changes in American policy and in the country’s justice system as a whole.

That means understanding how critical components of immigration law work, and how that may change over time. It means not only having a firm basis in immigration law, but continuing to learn and equip an office with what it needs to effectively represent a vulnerable client today, not last month or last year. That’s key to a good legal counsel when you’re facing all of the apparatus of a state that may not have your best interests at heart, and trying to access your own rights under the law. 

DACA and State Law: An Example

For instance, you hear a lot about DACA at the federal level, but not everyone understands that there are tensions in federal and state courts around this type of process. That’s a big deal, especially when officials clash on this or other aspects of immigration law. Far from being “settled law,” DACA and nearly everything in immigration law in the U.S. is constantly in flux and up for debate. 

We commented a while back on some state court moves to make DACA unlawful, and what that meant for applicants (you can still find this resource on our web site). There was a lot of confusion where people didn’t realize that those with existing provisions could continue to renew them, or that it was still in someone’s interest to apply. This is some of the critical guidance that people get from their legal representation in this area.

U Visas

The U Visa is also a critical component of immigration law. Here one of the major challenges is to provide evidence of a classified criminal activity to which the applicant is a victim. That might sound simple, but it actually involves significant legal work. We maintain a list of applicable crimes on our website and more to help clients to understand their rights under the law.

USCIS Changes: They Happen

In some cases, it’s the agency’s ability to process applications that’s under attack. In other cases, there is simply a major backlog of applications or some other kind of bottleneck.

Empire Law can help clients to navigate this particularly tricky territory and other immigration law processes. Don’t go into this legal maelstrom alone! Go with the power of a firm that is confident and caring, a firm that understands state and federal law well.